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13 Indians among Haj victims |
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Professionalise or perish, Advani to cooperatives
Talks
with NDA after Feb 6, says Sangma |
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DMK to
contest 15 seats, Cong 10 in TN Oppn to
raise law and order issue in UP House Cong trains guns
on Ananth Kumar Haryana
dental college students allowed internship CBI digs
out skeletons in Bilkis Banu case FIR against CBI
officials in Dubey murder case US envoy arrives this week
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13 Indians among Haj victims New Delhi, February 2 These Indians included four women — Nasreen (25) from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh, Rahimannia Begum (61) from Maharajganj in Uttar Pradesh, Bibi Khadija (60), who was sent for the pilgrimage by a private operator, and Hina Naaz, a resident of the Saudi kingdom. The Indian men killed in the stampede were identified as Ghulam Mohammad Mir (40) of Anantnag in Jammu and Kashmir, Muhammad Abu Sio (40) of Kozhikode in Kerala, Mohammed Mohiuddin (56) of Malda in West Bengal, Abdul Rehman (70) of Tonk in Rajasthan, Amir Ahmed (53) of Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh, Manullah Khar (65) of Maharajganj in Uttar Pradesh, Ummer (60) of Kannur in Kerala and Mohammed Ali and Shaikh Ahmed Rehman, both residents of Saudi Arabia. The ministry said eight of the dead Indian pilgrims were sponsored by the Haj committee while two arranged their journey through private operators. Three were residents of the kingdom. According to the casualty list, 247 persons were killed in the tragedy. Of them, Indonesia accounted for the highest number of casualties (54), followed by Pakistan (36), Egypt (13), Turkey (11), Bangladesh (10), Algeria (10), Sudan (8), Morocco (7), China (5), Yemen (4), Sri Lanka (3), Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Somalia and Syria (2 each) and Tunisia, Oman, Cameroon, Myanmar, Nigeria, Chad and Western Europe (1 each). The nationalities of some 60 pilgrims are yet to be confirmed. Meanwhile, President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam today mourned the death of Haj pilgrims, including those from India, in the stampede. In his message to Saudi Arabian King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, Mr Kalam said India shared the grief and sorrow on this tragic incident.
— UNI, PTI |
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Gaiety marks Id celebrations New Delhi, February 2 Shahi Imam of Fatehpuri Masjid Mufti Mohammad Mukkaram Ahmed led a congregation of over two lakh Muslims gathered here to offer
namaz. They prayed for global peace, prosperity and communal harmony. MUMBAI: Colourful bunting marked
Id-ul-Zuha celebrations in various parts of Maharashtra. In Muslim-dominated areas scores of Muslims, offered special namaz at the crack of dawn. At
Anjuman-e-Islam, a premier Muslim educational institution, “Idul-Adha” prayers were held with several prominent citizens attending the mass prayers. LUCKNOW:
Id-ul-Zuha was celebrated throughout Uttar Pradesh with religious fervour and traditional gaiety. Thousands of Muslims, in new attire flocked mosques at different places and offered prayers. In the state capital here, the main namaz was held at the historic Tilewali
Masjid, Asifi Imambara and the Eidgah. There was no report of any untoward incident from anywhere in the state, a police spokesman said.
—
PTI, UNI |
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Professionalise or perish, Advani to cooperatives New Delhi, February 2 Inaugurating the Asia-Pacific Cooperative Ministers conference today he said: “The old business model is under pressure to compete with those coming from foreign and domestic markets and cooperative institutions do not have all the answers. We have to learn from one another and a conference of this kind would provide an opportunity.” He said in India cooperatives were seen as the institutional means for agriculture and rural development through credit and extension support. “Most of the successful cooperatives the world over are professional organisations run on sound managerial systems. It is necessary for other cooperatives also to professionalise themselves in tune with the changing needs of the time for their survival and retaining the identity”, he said. Mahatma Gandhi had believed in people’s participation in different spheres of activity and the Non-Cooperation Movement against the British was an important tool for India’s freedom, he said. In his address, Agriculture Minister Rajnath Singh observed that in the present economic scenario, cooperatives could no longer afford to be silent on reforms under way in other sectors. He stressed on the need for restoring the democratic character of cooperatives both in management and business process. President of International Cooperative Alliance, Ivano Barberini, said it was essential for cooperatives to emerge as a competitive group consisting of selected well-run cooperatives to meet the challenges of multinationals. The conference also stressed on giving greater autonomy to the cooperatives. The four-day conference which is being attended by Cooperative Ministers and representatives from 24 countries, will deliberate on the role of cooperatives in development and ways to strengthen cooperation among the Asia-Pacific nations. |
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Advani sees ’77 repeat in LS poll New Delhi, February 2 He said for the first time the “incumbency” wave was set to have a positive impact and help the NDA
coalition. “The one difference in the elections between now and 1977 is that unlike an anger against the Congress, this is the first government where incumbency is not a liability but the biggest asset,” Mr Advani said while addressing a meeting of leaders, MPs, MLAs and workers from Uttar Pradesh here. But, the number two leader and an experienced campaigner of the party hastened to caution the party workers not to become complacent in the wake of recent pre-poll surveys projecting a clear majority to the BJP-led NDA government and the “disarray” in the opposition ranks. The meeting was held at the residence of BJP President M. Venkaiah Naidu. Stating that the NDA was now stronger while the Opposition was in a total “disarray”, Mr Advani said significant improvement in the economy and development of the infrastructure sector by the NDA government had provided a “feel good factor” to the masses. Touching upon the historic peace initiative taken by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for normalising relations with Pakistan and pointing about the returning of normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Advani said even the Hurriyat Conference, which had come for talks with him, had conveyed to him, that the NDA government should return to power. Addressing the meeting, Mr Naidu ruled out any alliances in Uttar Pradesh, saying that the party would go it alone in the state, having 80 Lok Sabha seats. He asked the cadre to work with redoubled vigour to ensure that the party achieved its target of winning 300 seats on its own. Apparently
buoyed by the possibility of the return of former UP Chief Minister Kalyan Singh to the party fold in the coming days, Mr Naidu said the party’s doors were open to all. Party General Secretary Pramod Mahajan and Union Law Minister Arun Jaitley also addressed the meeting.
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Talks with NDA after Feb 6, says Sangma New Delhi, February 2 Refusing to spell out the number of seats his party would seek, Mr Sangma said the party would also contest outside the North-East. The party would contest in Maharashtra but would not put up a candidate against Mr Sharad Pawar. Claiming the support of a majority of the state units of the NCP, Mr Sangma said he would meet the Election Commission on February 13 to prove that his faction was the real NCP. The former Lok Sabha Speaker and North-East People's Forum leader said he had plenty of documents, such as the 1999 NCP manifesto, to counter Mr Pawar's claims. He said the Nationalist Congress was born in 1999 when he, Mr Sharad Pawar, Mr Tariq Anwar were expelled from the Congress after raising the "issue of foreign origin." Mr Sangma said party workers all over the country had sought the support of people on this issue in the past five years. Replying to a question, Mr Sangma said he had already urged Assam Gana Parishad chief Brindaban Goswami to join the North-East People's Forum. |
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DMK to contest 15 seats, Cong 10 in TN Chennai, February 2 Announcing this at a press conference here after finalising the seat-sharing agreement with the Congress, DMK President M. Karunanidhi said the 15 seats included three reserve constituencies. The Congress, which had allied with the DMK after a gap of nearly 24 years, would contest from 10 constituencies and it would be followed by PMK — six (including one in Pondicherry), MDMK — four, CPM — two, CPI — two and the Indian Union Muslim League — one. The DMK, which led the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections in the state, had contested from 18 constituencies.
— UNI |
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Oppn to raise law and order issue in UP House Lucknow, February 2 “It is jungle raj in UP. The police, which is supposed to protect people’s life, is killing them. The Prime Minister’s kin was thrown out of a running train, while a nephew of Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav has been kidnapped and his whereabouts are still not known,” BJP spokesman Hridaya Narain Dixit said here today. Three persons, including two politicians, were killed and six others were injured when police opened fire at an unruly mob in Konch, a small town in Jalaun district, about 250 km from here, yesterday. People were protesting in front of the Konch police station against the arrest of some local traders on graft charge. Policemen inside the station were forced to open fire to prevent the mob from raiding it. The incident came two days after nephew of Chief Minister was kidnapped from Etawah, the home district of Mulayam Singh Yadav. On January 24, grandnephew of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was thrown out of a running train when he tried to stop eve-teasers. “What to talk about common people when the police cannot protect kin of Prime Minister and Chief Minister,” Dixit said. The law and order issue would be raised in the state Assembly, leader of the BSP Legislature party Swamy Prasad Maurya said. “There is complete breakdown of law and order situation in the state ... it is mafia raj,” he said. Meanwhile, the state government has transferred the Superintendent of Police of Jalaun district. The ASP has been asked to take charge, official sources said. |
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Cong trains guns
on Ananth Kumar New Delhi, February 2 Keeping an eye on the coming polls, the Congress in the state has launched a campaign against Mr Ananth Kumar for writing off a sum of Rs 550 crore as HUDCO loans to help certain private players. The Congress is all set to make this an election issue with chief minister S.M. Krishna leading the attack against the BJP state president. Talking to mediapersons today, Karnataka Pradesh Congress president B. Janardharn Poojari demanded the former minister’s arrest, charging that the write-offs were to facilitate further lending and for private gains. Mr Poojari is facing a defamation case for levelling these charges. Referring to the possibility of an advanced Assembly poll, Mr Poojari said the lessons learnt from the recent Assembly elections would be kept in mind while selecting the candidates. Though he did not go into details, he observed that the Rajasthan poll was lost as the Congress repeated a lot of unpopular candidates. Mr Poojari maintained that the Congress was in a strong position in the state and that a three-corner fight would work to its benefit. The KPCC chief, who met Congress president Sonia Gandhi today to apprise her of the political situation in Karnataka, said the surveys conducted in the state had given a clear majority to the Congress. He also ruled out a tie-up with any regional party. The Karnataka Congress chief invited to Ms Gandhi, Rahul and Priyanka to contest from any of the Lok Sabha seats in the state, adding that the party was confident of getting them elected. |
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Haryana dental college students allowed internship New Delhi, February 2 A Bench of Mr Justice Shivaraj V. Patil and Mr Justice D.M. Dharmadhikari directed Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, to make the allotment of the recognised colleges to the BMNDC students so that they could complete their internship. "The students who have completed four years' BDS course from the college and have passed the university examination shall be allowed to complete their internship from a recognised (dental) college," the Bench in an interim order said. The allotted colleges would permit the students to complete internship subject to the regulations, but without raising any objection that they had not passed their examination from a recognised dental college, the court said while hearing a petition by the Dental Council of India (DCI), which refused to grant recognition to BMNDC. The DCI had filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against the Punjab and Haryana High Court's order granting recognition to the BMNDC degrees. The DCI alleged that the college lacked the basic infrastructure. The Court in the order, passed on Saturday, however said: “Mere completion of the internship cannot be claimed in equity by the students.” The court also ordered the setting up of a committee of five experts to examine the infrastructure in the college. |
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CBI digs out skeletons in Bilkis Banu case Ahmedabad, February 2 Seven persons were killed by an armed mob on March 3, 2002, and seven members of Banu's family were reported missing by the Gujarat police and investigating officials apprehend that the skeletal remains and rags of cloth found from the site could belong to those still missing. The sources say that the CBI has handed over the findings to forensic scientists for DNA tests and confirmation if the remains found were indeed those of any of those reported missing from Banu's family. — PTI |
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FIR against CBI
officials in Dubey murder case Gaya, February 2 Police Superintendent (Gaya) Sanjay Singh said the case was instituted on the complaint of Baijnath Sah, father of Sheonath Kumar Sah who along with Mukendra Paswan had allegedly committed suicide. He said Baijnath had charged the CBI with poisoning Sheonath and Paswan during interrogation, adding that a DSP rank official would be assigned to probe into the case and “if necessary, we will seek sanction from the Centre for custodial interrogation or arrest of the CBI men probing the case.” Quoting the post-mortem report submitted by a five-member panel of doctors, District Magistrate Brajesh Malhotra said the two died after taking celphos and no internal or external injuries were found in the post-mortem. In New Delhi, the CBI brushed aside the allegations by relatives of the two suspects that it had committed suicide following their torture in course of the probe. The District Magistrate said in the wake of the alleged suicide by the suspects, the authorities tightened the security to ensure the safety of agency officials involved in the probe. —
PTI |
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US envoy arrives this week New Delhi, February 2 Dr Mulford, who replaces Mr Robert Blackwill, was nominated to the coveted post by President George W Bush on November 13 last and his name was later approved by US Congress. |
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